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As the economy revs back to life, with signs of hiring on the horizon, the housing market is being left behind like Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone.”

In the past few years, we’ve all been careful to choose our words carefully, not calling it a recession until it fit the technical definition and avoiding any inappropriate use of the “D” word — Depression.

Things were bad but the broader economy never reached Depression territory. The housing market, on the other hand, just crossed that threshold.

Home values have fallen 26 percent since their peak in June 2006, worse than the 25.9-percent decline seen during the Depression years between 1928 and 1933, Zillow reported.

November marked the 53rd consecutive month (4 ½ years) that home values have fallen.

What’s worse, it’s not over yet: Home values are expected to continue to slide as inventories pile up, and likely won't recover until the job market improves.

And while the president is physically protected in an emergency, whisked to a bunker at an undisclosed location, the actual White House is not: The value of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has dropped by $80 million, or nearly 25 percent since the peak of the housing boom. It’s current value is $251.6 million, according to Zillow, down from $331.5 million.

Until jobs come back and economy shoots up, the housing market will continue to be in a funk. Gone are the days of buying a house with no job and no income and no down payment. I have heard you need 20% down in today's market and a good credit score.

My daughter is a mortgage broker and she is just barely able to make a living. Wasn't long ago she was making 6 figures.
She can't get people who qualify for a loan and all her lenders want 20% down. Actually, I don't see that part changing. Ever again.

It's gonna be a loooong time for most folks. On top of that oil seems to be headed for 100$ + again, so the cost of heating all those huge homes people were buying will make them unattractive. And if that were not enough, in many places the tax rates are rising because municipalities are trying to compensate for the fact that their revenue is falling.